Broadband technologies jumpstart rural economies

— Rep. Doug Collins , the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, is gearing up to introduce legislation aimed at tightening requirements for the FCC’s broadband subsidies under the Connect America Fund, according to letters circulated by his office and obtained by POLITICO. Some subsidy recipients “have taken taxpayer dollars but failed to fulfill their obligations to their customers,” the Georgia lawmaker wrote in a letter seeking co-sponsors for the measure.

— “The CAF Accountability Act ensures that CAF recipients are reporting the speeds they are actually providing consumers – not those that are the product of gamed performance testing software, unrepresentative sampling, or repeat testing locations,” Collins continued. He alleged that ISPs in his rural district offer “consistently bad” speeds below what’s required of their subsidies.

One of the advantages of having a recording box that samples the speed every 30 minutes and then can be plotted on a graphic, provides clear evidence what speed the ISP is providing. This is my DIY recorder. Good up to about 250 Mbits.